BURP domain-containing proteins belong to a newly identified protein class that is unique to plants and plays an important role in plant development and metabolism. Although systematic characterization of BURP domain-containing proteins have been carried out in many species, such as rice, poplar and maize, little is known about BURP domain-containing proteins in Medicago. In this study, multiple bioinformatics approaches were employed to identify all the members of BURP family genes in Medicago. A complete set of 39 BURP family genes were identified. These genes have diverse structures and were distributed on chromosome 1-8 except 7. According to phylogenetic analysis, these BURP family genes could be classified into eight classes. Motif and exon-intron organization, stress-related cis-elements in promoter regions and microarray analysis of MtBURPs were also performed. Furthermore, transcript level analysis of MtBURP genes in response to drought stress revealed that all of the 39 BURP genes were regulated by drought stress. The results of this study reveal a comprehensive overview of the Medicago BURP gene family and provide the first step toward the selection of MtBURP genes for cloning and functional analysis of the BURP gene family in Medicago truncatula.

The role of tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 2 (Tdp2) involved in the repair of 50-endblocking DNA lesions is still poorly explored in plants. To gain novel insights, Medicago truncatula suspension cultures overexpressing the MtTdp2a gene (Tdp2a-13C and Tdp2a-28 lines, respectively) and a control...

Diverse leaf forms can be seen in nature. In Medicago truncatula, PALM1 encoding a Cys(2)His(2) transcription factor is a key regulator of compound leaf patterning. PALM1 negatively regulates expression of SGL1, a key regulator of lateral leaflet initiation. However, how PALM1 itself is...

Key message: In this study, we identified 34 CCCH Znf genes in Medicago truncatula and the results of semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed that the expression patterns of subfamily VI members were diverse. Abstract: CCCH-type zinc finger (Znf) proteins are specific transcriptional factors with a...

Background: About 80% of today's land plants are able to establish an arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis with Glomeromycota fungi to improve their access to nutrients and water in the soil. On the molecular level, the development of AM symbioses is only partly understood, due to the...

Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) represents one of the most commonly used NO donors in biological sciences, which acts as a signal molecule in plants responsible for the regulation of the expression of many defense-related enzymes. This study attempts to provide novel insight into the effect of...

Ammonium transporters (AMTs) are crucial for the high affinity primary uptake and translocation of ammonium in plants. In the model legume Medicago truncatula, the genomic set of AMT-type ammonium transporters comprises eight members. Only four genes were abundantly expressed in young seedlings,...

Comparative analysis of WOX and PIN genes expression in the ovules and during somatic embryogenesis in Medicago truncatula was performed. It was shown that some WOX and PIN genes with high expression level in ovules ( MtWOX11-like, STENOFOLIA, MTR_2g015000, and MtPIN10) were also activated...

Proteinase inhibitors (PIs) play an important role in plant responses to biotic and environmental stimuli, but little is known about the role of PIs in mediating plant immune responses to microbial infection. In this study, a gene named proteinase inhibitor I4 ( MtPiI4) was isolated from...